YORK City Knights boss James Ford says "one or two" shirts are still up for grabs for the big season opener against Toronto Wolfpack as his team head into their final warm-up match of pre-season.

The League One champions take on Championship rivals Dewsbury Rams at Bootham Crescent tomorrow evening (Saturday, 6pm), a fortnight before the big-spending Wolfpack come to the Minster city.

Although skipper Tim Spears is still ruled out along with Sam Scott and Matt Chilton - with all three now looking set to miss the start of term - the Knights' injury concerns are easing with packmen Ronan Dixon and Joe Porter back in today's 20-man squad while hooker Harry Carter and prop Jack Blagbrough are being phased back into full training.

And Ford has intimated that, while he has the majority of his line-up in mind for February 3, how his players perform not only in this friendly but also in the next six sessions at Haxby Road will determine who starts the season.

Asked if the line-up tomorrow will reflect that against Toronto, Ford said: "I'm certainly getting closer to solidifying my thoughts for that game, but there are one or two positions that are still up for grabs.

"The boys are aware of that, and how they perform in this game and in the next six (training) sessions before Toronto will have a massive impact on the side I select."

Two names in tomorrow's 13 may raise some eyebrows among fans, with Jason Bass named at centre and Marcus Stock in Spears' stead at loose-forward.

The England Students internationals arrived this winter from minnows Coventry and Hemel respectively, and, when asked if their selections reflected how they have been performing against their peers in training, Ford said: "It's a sign of their potential.

"They're both 22, they've both come on in pre-season and they've both shown lots of promise.

"There is still work for them to do but they've got good attitudes and are working really hard.

"The players we see now will not be the players we see after six rounds or 16 rounds. They will continue to improve as long as their attitudes remain."

Stock's inclusion allows Liam Salter to start at second-row. The former Hull KR star, probably York's marquee signing this winter, has played much of his career in the centres, but Ford said: "Liam is playing really well in the back row.

"He's very dominant defensively and throws some contacts about, and I really like that. It fits in with how we want to defend. He also works really hard for the side with his ruck speed, support runs and kick chases.

"He's a really good player whether he's at centre or in the back row. He likes contact and looks for it. I'm enjoying that part of his game."

Toronto, meanwhile, play their sole pre-season friendly tomorrow afternoon at Hull KR.

It will be their first outing under new boss Brian McDermott, the four-time Super League winner with Leeds, who replaced Paul Rowley in November after the Championship table-topping Wolfpack missed out on promotion to the top fight with a surprise defeat to London Broncos in the Million Pound Game.

Asked if tactics tomorrow will be a practice run for those against the full-time Canadian outfit, Ford explained: "I've not seen Toronto play so how we set up against them - the little adjustments to our offensive plan or things we need to emphasise defensively - I'm not sure about just yet.

"We have lots of footage of them under Paul Rowley but I've not seen much footage of them under Brian McDermott so it will be interesting to see how they set up against Hull KR.

"After seeing that game we will have a better idea.

"This game against Dewsbury is more about us, about building combinations, building match fitness and improving our fluency."

Both York and Dewsbury lost their Yorkshire Cup semi-finals last weekend, to Batley and Bradford respectively.

Asked what he wanted from tomorrow's warm-up, Ford said: "I want them to do certain things better than they did last week.

"We want the players to have control over their own standards and to have some influence over their own targets.

"What's important is they know I feel we need to get better. I'm sure we will see some positive signs.

"We're looking for a promising performance, and to be better in certain areas than we were against Batley.

"We need to make sure we're getting close to the standards we expect at this club. We're going in the right direction and it's important they play well individually as well as as a group because there are those places up for grabs."

Knights: from Marsh, Robson, Bass, Hey, Whiteley, Cockayne, Robinson, Horne, Jubb, Teanby, Kelly, Salter, Stock. Subs: Dixon, Porter, Petersen, Jordan-Roberts, Rushworth, Mazive, Brown.